Open Calls for Views
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British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015 Inquiry
The Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee will be considering the impact of the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015. The Act led to the development of a British Sign Language (BSL) national plan and listed authority plans. The listed authorities that must produce and implement their own plans for promoting and facilitating the use and understanding of BSL include local councils, NHS boards, colleges and universities, and the Scottish Parliament. The...
Closes 2 May 2025
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Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill
The Rural Affairs and Islands Committee is seeking your views on the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill , which was introduced by the Scottish Government on Wednesday 19 February 2025. What does the Bill do? The Bill aims to support the protection and restoration of Scotland’s natural environment, and to assist the delivery of the Scottish Government’s net zero and biodiversity objectives. The Policy Memorandum for the Bill defines the ‘natural environment’ as: ...
Closes 9 May 2025
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Cost-effectiveness of Scottish public inquiries
The Finance and Public Administration Committee has launched a call for views on the cost-effectiveness of public inquiries. Read about the inquiry There are 7 questions in the call for views: How effective is the current model of public inquiries in Scotland, and to what extent does it deliver value for money? Is there sufficient transparency around the purpose, remits (including any extensions), timescales, costs and effectiveness of public inquiries and what, if...
Closes 9 May 2025
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Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill: Financial Memorandum
About the Bill As introduced, the Bill has four main parts. Part 1 says that the Scottish Government must introduce targets to improve biodiversity. Part 2 allows the Scottish Government to make and change laws relating to the Environmental Impact Assessments regime and the Habitats Regulations. This would replace a power that was lost as a result of the UK’s exit from the EU. Part 3 updates the aims of National Parks and makes changes to the way National Parks are run....
Closes 12 May 2025
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Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Bill
The Economy and Fair Work Committee wants to hear your views on the Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Bill. This Bill was introduced by the Scottish Government on Wednesday 20 March 2025. What does the Bill do? Community Wealth Building (CWB) is an approach to economic development that tries to use the power of ‘anchor organisations’ to grow and retain wealth within a local economy. Anchor organisations can be public, private, or third sector bodies that have a...
Closes 23 May 2025
Closed Calls for Views
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Committee Effectiveness - Short Survey
We want to hear from you about how effective committees at the Scottish Parliament are. Committees are groups of MSPs formed to look at specific subject issues. Each committee has MSPs from a mixture of political parties, with a balance similar to that of the Parliament as a whole. They work on a cross-party basis to explore policy issues, examine legislation and scrutinise the work and policies of the Scottish Government. Each committee is led by a Convener (with a Deputy Convener) and...
Closed 22 April 2025
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Committee Effectiveness - Stakeholder Survey
We want to hear from you about how effective committees at the Scottish Parliament are. The Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee is carrying out an inquiry to look at committee effectiveness. To support the inquiry, we’re keen to understand what stakeholder experiences of committees are. Understanding how stakeholders and the public view committees and the work they do will help the Committee to consider what success looks like in the work that they do. ...
Closed 22 April 2025
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Dog Theft (Scotland) Bill: Financial Memorandum
About the Bill As introduced, this Bill makes dog theft a specific statutory offence with penalties of up to five years in prison and/or an unlimited fine. The Bill also allows people who are victims of dog theft to give a victim statement to the court. In this, they can express the impact the crime has had on them physically, emotionally, and financially. The Bill also makes the theft of an assistance dog, an aggravated offence. This is a more serious issue and, as a result,...
Closed 21 April 2025
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Legal Aid Inquiry
The Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee is looking at civil legal assistance (Civil Legal Aid and Advice and Assistance for civil justice issues) and grant funding for advice organisations. Civil justice issues are the branch of the law which deals with disputes about rights and responsibilities – such as about housing, relationships or social security issues. The Committee has heard that there can be significant barriers to accessing civil legal assistance for...
Closed 17 April 2025
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Tertiary Education and Training Bill: Financial Memorandum
About the Bill The purpose of the Bill is to reform and simplify the framework for the funding of post-school education and skills training in Scotland. The Bill does so primarily by making provision for the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council (the Council) to take full responsibility for securing the delivery of national training programmes (NTPs) and apprenticeships, a role previously carried out by Skills Development Scotland. The Council already funds the provision...
Closed 16 April 2025